One and a half months later—
The territory controlled by the [Famiglia Venezia] Mafia was not small. Besides a mobile city, there were countless small towns and villages.
Whether in a large country or a small one.
Mobile cities were, after all, a minority. At least sixty percent of a country's population lived in towns and villages. To avoid excessive damage from natural disasters, there were no cities outside the mobile cities; the largest settlements were just towns with slightly larger populations.
Kunka Town.
Located on the border of the territory controlled by the [Famiglia Venezia] Mafia, near the area controlled by the [Sicily] Mafia, this town was the largest in a hundred-kilometer radius, with a population of just over one hundred thousand.
And at this moment in the town.
A carriage was slowly proceeding down the widest road. The ones pulling it were not horses, but a group of plainly dressed common people.
On both sides of the carriage, countless Mafia members, all holding identical small hand-axes, were neatly arranged in two columns, guarding the carriage in the middle.
The sides of the road were lined with countless townspeople, but their faces were filled with reluctance and anger, yet they dared not speak out.
Atop the carriage.
Sat a burly man in loose clothing, covered in coarse black fur. He was arrogantly and proudly looking down on everything, like an ancient emperor inspecting his domain.
This was the biggest Mafia in town, the Axe Gang.
And the one sitting on the carriage was the First Boss of the Axe Gang.
Ever since watching a number of movies.
This First Boss had become infatuated with this ancient imperial style of touring his domain.
Basically, every Monday, he would sit in his custom-made, expensive carriage to inspect his 'empire.' Likewise, to please their boss, his underlings would force the town's residents to drop everything they were doing and attend the ceremony.
A mobile city would be better.
Mobile cities were uniformly controlled by the ruling Mafia, who at least followed some rules and didn't harm ordinary people. But these small-time gangs in remote places were not so disciplined, often terrorizing the populace and making their lives miserable. But there was no way to resist; they could only endure it.
Moreover.
Terra was not Earth.
On Earth, if you couldn't stand it, you could just pack up and move to another city.
But on Terra, the links between cities were not highways, but the wilderness. A person traveling alone in the wilderness without a vehicle would likely not survive.
In Kunka Town.
The Axe Gang was the absolute king. Some had tried to resist, but they ended up as corpses in the wilderness, and even their entire families were implicated.
This First Boss arrogantly inspected his 'territory' and 'subjects'. As the 'lord', he also liked to use many millennia-old systems, such as the lord's right to the first night of every maiden in his domain.
This tour was, in part, a search for the girls he intended to enjoy this week.
His gaze was like a venomous snake, sharp and vicious, consciously ignoring the men and scanning the young girls, like a wicked wolf selecting its prey.
However.
His gaze suddenly caught a faint reflection in the distance.
He paused for a moment.
And then...
The next moment.
There was a loud bang.
The upper body and head of the Axe Gang's First Boss, who had been selecting girls just a moment ago, exploded like a watermelon. Blood, chunks of flesh, and organs splattered to the sides like shredded cotton, leaving only two legs, still reasonably intact, to wobble and fall off the carriage.
At the same time, blue foxfire erupted, instantly enveloping the surrounding Mafia members.
It all happened too fast.
One moment he was the First Boss of the Axe Gang, the next he was a corpse with its pieces scattered everywhere.
In just the blink of an eye.
On both sides of the road.
Many of the townspeople were spattered with blood and bits of flesh.
The entire street was silent for a full two seconds before someone finally reacted.
"Assassin!! Protect the boss!!"
As soon as the words were out, he turned his head and looked.
His boss was nothing but two legs on the carriage, the rest of him was scattered all over the place.
"....."
For a moment, the entire town of Kunka was thrown into chaos.
With their leader gone, the large Axe Gang was suddenly in disarray, without a head. Many of the surrounding townspeople, as if they had anticipated this, were surprised but reacted quickly. One person raised the hammer he used for forging and gave a rallying cry. Instantly, many of the young and middle-aged men around him pulled out their weapons from under their clothes and charged at the confused Mafia members.
Meanwhile, on top of the tallest building in town, two kilometers away.
Lisa was lying prone. She had long since swapped her cute princess dress for a combat suit that seemed a bit too mature and completely out of character for her.
White smoke was slowly drifting from the black sniper rifle in her hands. Through the scope, she looked at the crowd fighting the Mafia in the distance and sighed.
She put away her sniper rifle, like a seasoned sniper preparing to change positions.
"Nice shot, little Lisa. Very accurate."
Beside her.
Lucas Reeve was standing steadily on the edge of the roof, giving the impression that he could fall off at any moment. He held a pair of binoculars and praised Lisa.
"It's all because you taught me well, Teacher."
Lisa nodded gratefully.
Lucas Reeve shook his head and said, "It has little to do with me. My training is all formulaic. You've gotten this good purely because of your own talent and hard work."
Lucas Reeve took out a notebook and a pen.
He crossed out a name at the bottom of the first page. Above it, more than a dozen names had already been crossed out.
Identity: Kunka Town, First Boss of the Axe Gang (decapitated)
Lucas Reeve gently ruffled Lisa's cute little head.
"Let's go. Next stop."
"Mmm!"
Lisa nodded happily, turned around, her nine fluffy fox tails swaying from side to side, and followed Lucas Reeve downstairs with a bounce in her step.
Ever since Lisa's mother had chosen to leave without a word, entrusting her daughter to Lucas Reeve.
Lisa, who had just been an ordinary little girl, seemed to have grown up overnight.
Her mother had grown up in Siracusa.
She knew how many ordinary people were displaced or tormented and exploited under the rule of these evil Mafia families in such a chaotic environment. Lisa's mother longed to make Siracusa a better place. After growing up, she became an assassin, killing the wicked people of Siracusa over and over again.
However, Siracusa at this moment was like an inflamed abscess. No matter how much pus was squeezed out, more would endlessly be generated.
Knowing that trying to change Siracusa through individual effort was pure fantasy, that even if she killed one evil Mafia member, a new one would appear tomorrow, endlessly, she realized that only by unifying Siracusa under a competent power could the situation truly change.
That was why.
Lisa's mother had chosen to join [Famiglia Venezia], serving under a candidate whose ideals aligned with hers.
And Lisa, who inherited her mother's wish, chose the same path as her mother after she left.
Since her mother was gone.
There was no longer any need to stay in the city where Lisa had lived for so long.
She trained desperately every day under Lucas Reeve's guidance, and Lucas Reeve generously infused his Prayer Power into Lisa's body, shortening the time she needed to grow.
These days of hard training, combined with Lucas Reeve's abilities.
had resulted in a qualitative leap in her physical fitness and Arts abilities.
In just one month of training and enhancement from Lucas Reeve's Prayer Power, Lisa's general physical constitution had already reached the level of a standard intermediate Operator, and her Arts abilities had reached the level of an advanced Operator.
This was the terrifying power of Lucas Reeve's Prayer Power.
A pure power infusion with absolutely no side effects.
In terms of strength, it allowed Lisa to skip several years of training in one go.
Although combat experience was something Lucas Reeve couldn't grant her, and Lisa still needed to accumulate it herself, after just a month and a half, the little girl was already starting to look like a proper combat Operator.
Furthermore.
With her excellent talent in the Arts, she quickly mastered the use of firearms.
During this time.
Lucas Reeve also used communication devices to ask the former special messenger, Angelina, about information brokers.
Having been in the dark side of Siracusa for over a year, she naturally knew a lot of people.
Through the information brokers.
Lucas Reeve compiled a list of heinous villains for Lisa to use to improve her combat experience.
After the twelfth target was eliminated.
Lisa could now do it without batting an eye, unlike at the beginning when she was too timid to pull the trigger, and even vomited for a long time after killing her first person.
At first.
Seeing Lisa's pitiful state, Lucas Reeve felt a little sorry for her and suggested she just come back to Columbia with him.
But when Lisa thought about how her mother must have gone through the same thing, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to endure it.
Siracusa was not a superpower, and Terra was not Earth.
You couldn't just have a peaceful life because you wanted one.
Lucas Reeve followed behind Lisa.
Looking at the twelve-year-old girl in front of him, carrying a gun slightly taller than herself, he sighed heavily.
Returning to the inn where the two were staying temporarily.
Lisa seemed to transform back into the cute and sensible girl she used to be, diligently going to boil water.
"Mr. Reeve... I wonder how Mom is doing right now..."
These days.
While training, Lisa was also trying to find out news about her mother.
With her mother's fame in Siracusa, if she had appeared anywhere, word would surely have spread on the streets. But for a month and a half, she had heard nothing, which meant her mother was still lying low. In fact, Lisa's own fame had gradually begun to spread among the smaller Mafia families.
After all, killing more than ten minor Mafia bosses in one go was hard to keep quiet.
"Where are we going next, Mr. Reeve?"
Lisa spread a map on the table and asked.
"Um..."
Lucas Reeve looked at the map for a few moments, then pointed.
"Here. Siracusa's largest mobile city."
"Mmm!"
Right now, Lucas Reeve and Lisa had no clear objective. The two of them were driving between Siracusa's mobile cities, simply wanting Lisa to gain more combat experience, survival skills, and to broaden her horizons.
Lisa was still young, and her future path was long. He didn't want her to get involved in the core of Siracusa just yet, nor did he want her to fall into the sights of the ruling Mafia. It was best to develop discreetly.
Lucas Reeve's reason for choosing Siracusa's largest mobile city as their next stop was twofold. First, he wanted to show Lisa the world. Second.
He had heard that the cooperation between Raythean Industries and the Sicily family had been officially settled, and Siracusa's first Raythean Industries branch office was about to be established in Siracusa's largest mobile city. Furthermore, this mobile city was also within the Sicily family's sphere of influence.
Due to the establishment of the branch office.
A big shot from Raythean Industries headquarters would definitely come for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Lucas Reeve decided to take Lisa to watch the show.
This official cooperation would mean that the Sicily family would have the support of Raythean Industries' weapons in the future. Although under the unanimous regulations of various countries, foreign governments were not allowed to extend their 'hands' into Siracusa, Raythean Industries was just a company.
It was just doing business in Siracusa as a businessman. Apart from buying and selling, it would not interfere in any of Siracusa's internal affairs.
Other countries didn't have this advantage.
Ursus... it didn't have any super-large national corporations, and besides, it didn't have enough weapons for itself, let alone sell them to others. Impossible.
Yan...
As one of the oldest great eastern nations, it was like a slumbering giant, never interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
Victoria had meddled before, but its domestic companies were far less competitive than Raythean Industries, so they eventually withdrew.
As for the other countries, they simply didn't have the capability.
However.
Lucas Reeve had also specifically asked Jessica about it before.
Jessica had said that this kind of ribbon-cutting was usually handled by a dedicated branch manager. There was no need for the chairman or a director to personally attend. With her father's current status, only the major world powers could persuade him to make an appearance.
As for whether Jessica would come, Lucas Reeve didn't bother to ask, or rather, there was no need to ask.
Jessica now had Raythean Medica.
Why would she come to Siracusa for a ribbon-cutting?
She had been very busy these days. Moreover, Jessica seemed to have no intention of getting involved in the internal affairs of Raythean Industries for the time being. She was still young, and her parents had no plans to let their precious daughter step into that whirlpool so early.
When Lucas Reeve had some free time, he would occasionally tell Jessica about Lisa. Jessica felt sorry for this cute and strong little girl, and even suggested that Lucas Reeve just bring Lisa to Columbia.
A twelve-year-old child shouldering so much.
It was heart-wrenching to think about.
But...
This was the path Lisa had chosen for herself, and Lucas Reeve had no right to interfere. However, whenever she felt tired, Lucas Reeve would be ready to take her away from Siracusa and back to her life as a little princess, fulfilling the request her mother had entrusted to him.
After a simple meal.
Lucas Reeve and Lisa drove off again, heading for Siracusa's largest mobile city.